Getting Started with WebAssign

• Not registered message: After entering your access code, you must be sure to click Submit. Typing Enter from the keyboard will not submit your access code and you will not be registered for the course. After successful submission of your access code, you will receive a message from WebAssign. If you do not recieve this message, you have failed to successfully register.

• After you submit a response to WebAssign, WebAssign grades it and displays a "check" (correct) or an "X" (incorrect). Click Show Details at the top of each question to see the current score and the number of submissions used up in each part of the question. You should check this before starting a question to see just how many submissions are allowed. WebAssign doesn't grade answers that have an essay component. Instead it gives you points just for trying the problem, and does NOT display a "check" or "X. You should compare your answer to the correct one that is posted after the due date.

• Checking grades: After submitting an assignment, you will see the raw score (sum of points) that you received for that assignment. After the due date, you can check your current homework grade. To do so, click on the My Grades link at the bottom of your WebAssign home page. On the page that opens, you will see two sections, Interim/Final Grade and Scores.

  • The Scores section displays raw scores (total points) and percentage of total points earned. Click on Expand All to see this information for each assignment.
  • The Interim/Final Grade section provides you with the weighted score for all past due homework assignments. (If you only see a line for your final score, click on the line to view your final score.) The weighted score tells you your current score on all graded homework assignments. It is not the percentage of total points received, but rather, it is the average of your average homework scores. This is the score that counts, rather than just the percentage of total points earned. For more detailed information, click on the final score shown.

• Grades are displayed after the due date for an assignment. Therefore, clicking MyGrades before the due date will not provide you with any information. To find out what your raw scores on assignments are (not the percentage correct), follow the MyAssignments link.

• Answer keys: The WebAssign answer key for each Homework assignment will be activated the Monday following the due date of the assignment. Keys for Homeworks #4, #7 and #10 will be activated the day after the due date to facilitate preparation for midterm and final exams.

Problems with getting WebAssign to accept your response? These tips might help...

• Formulas for Hydrates of Ionic Compounds: WebAssign gives three boxes for answers involving hydrates such as copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate. Type CuSO4 in Box 1; type 5 in Box 2, and type H2O in Box 3.
• Entering the group number: If the WebAssign question asks you to input a group number from the periodic table, it will accept the newer, 1 - 18 system, or the older, A/B system with numbers. However, it does not accept Roman Numerals. So, for example, the group number for the halogens could be submitted as either 17 or 7A, but not VIIA.

• When naming elements, remember that the names are not proper nouns and should not be capitalized. On the other hand, the first letter of the symbol always is.
• WebAssign is like any computer program in that it is very picky about formatting of mathematical equations. If the equation is not formatted correctly, the answer will be wrong. If you are having a question marked wrong, be sure to check on the formatting if typing in an equation is involved.

• Check significant figure message: The computer program is not as smart as you are and it will interpret a unit as another significant figure. So, be sure that you only enter units if asked to do so.

• If you are having technical problems with WebAssign, link to the Guide at the top right of the page or click on Help.